The Myth Of The Hiawatha Part 8

Come, and on the mountain free Rove a fairy bright with me.

SONG OF THE OPECHEE, THE ROBIN.

The Chippewas relate that the robin originated from a youth who was subjected to too severe a task of fasting.

In the boundless woods there are berries of red, And fruits of a beautiful blue, Where, by nature's own hand, the sweet singers are fed, And to nature they ever are true.

We go not with arrow and bow to the field, Like men of the fierce ruddy race, To take away lives which they never can give, And revel the lords of the chase.

If danger approaches, with instant alarm We fly to our own leafy woods, And there, with an innocent carol and charm, We sing to our dear little broods.

At morning we sally in quest of the grain Kind nature in plenty supplies, We skip o'er the beautiful wide-stretching plain, And sport in the vault of the skies.

At evening we perch in some neighboring tree To carol our evening adieu, And feel, although man a.s.sert he is free, We only have liberty true.

We sing out our praises to G.o.d and to man, We live as heaven taught us to live, And I would not change back to mortality's plan For all that the mortal can give.

Here ceased the sweet singer; then pluming his breast, He winged the blue firmament free, Repeating, as homeward he flew to his rest, Tshee-ree-lee-Tshee-ree-lee-Tshee-ree-lee!

EVENING CHANT OF INDIAN CHILDREN.

TO THE WATASEE, THE FIRE-FLY.

Fire-fly, fire-fly! bright little thing, Light me to bed, and my song I will sing.

Give me your light, as you fly o'er my head, That I may merrily go to my bed.

Give me your light o'er the gra.s.s as you creep, That I may joyfully go to my sleep.

Come, little fire-fly-come, little beast- Come! and I'll make you to-morrow a feast.

Come, little candle that flies as I sing, Bright little fairy-bug-night's little king; Come, and I'll dance as you guide me along, Come, and I'll pay you, my bug, with a song.

SONG OF A FAIRY CHIEF.

Addressed to the winds on transferring his sister to a position as one of the planets in the morning sky.

Blow, winds, blow, my sister lingers From her dwelling in the sky, Where the moon with rosy fingers Shall her cheeks with vermil dye.

There my earliest views directed, Shall from her their brilliance take And her smiles through clouds reflected, Guide me on, by wood and lake.

While I range the highest mountains, Sport in valleys, green and low, Or beside our Indian fountains, Raise my tiny hip hallo.

SONG OF A CAPTIVE CREEK GIRL,.

Who was an exile in a distant northern tribe, confined on an island in Lake Superior.

To sunny vales, to balmy skies, My thoughts, a flowery arrow, flies; I see the wood, the bank, the glade, Where first, a wild wood girl, I played.

I think on scenes and faces dear; They are not here-they are not here.

In this cold sky, in this lone isle, I meet no friends, no mother's smile.

I list the wind, I list the wave; They seem like requiems, round the grave, And all my heart's young joys are gone; It is alone-it is alone.

FEMALE SONG.

My love is a hunter-he hunts the fleet deer, With fusil or arrow, one-half of the year; He hunts the fleet deer over mountain and lea, But his heart is still hunting for love and for me.

My love is a warrior; when warriors go, With fusil or arrow, to strike the bold foe, He treads the bright war-path with step bold and free, But still his thoughts wander to love and to me.

But hunter or warrior, where'er he may go, To track the swift deer, or to follow the foe, His heart's warm desire, field and forest still flee, To go hunting his love, and make captive of me.

MALE SONG.

My love, she gave to me a belt, a belt of texture fine, Of snowy hue, emboss'd with blue and scarlet porcupine; This tender braid sustain'd the blade I drew against the foe, And ever prest upon my breast, to mark its ardent glow.

And if with art I act my part, and bravely fighting stand, I, in the din, a trophy win, that gains Nimosha's hand.

My love, she is a handsome girl, she has a sparkling eye, And a head of flowing raven hair, and a forehead arched and high; Her teeth are white as cowry sh.e.l.ls, brought from the distant sea, And she is tall, and graceful all, and fair as fair can be.

And if with art I act my part, and bravely wooing stand, And with address my suit I press, I gain Nimosha's hand.

Oh, I will search the silver brooks for skin of blackest dye, And scale the highest mountain-tops, a warrior's gift to spy!

I'll place them where my love shall see, and know my present true; Perhaps when she admires the gift, she'll love the giver, too.

And if with art I act my part, and bravely wooing stand, I'll gain my love's unsullied heart, and then I'll gain her hand.

THE LOVE OF THE FOREST.

To rove with the wild bird, and go where we will, Oh, this is the charm of the forest-life still!

With our houses of bark, and our food on the plain, We are off like an eagle, and back there again.

No farms can detain us, no chattels prevent; We live not by ploughing-we thrive not by rent; Our herds rove the forest, our flocks swim the floods, And we skim the broad waters, and trip through the woods.

With s.h.i.+ps not of oak wood, nor pitchy, nor strong, We sail along rivers, and sail with a song; We care not for taxes-our laws are but few; The dart is our sickle, our s.h.i.+p the canoe.

If enemies press us, and evil fear stray, We seize on our war-clubs, and drive them away, And when there is nothing to fear or withstand, We lift the proud rattle, and dance on the land.

In feasting and dancing, our moments are gay; We trust in the G.o.d who made heaven and day; We read no big volumes, no science implore, But ask of our wise men to teach us their lore.

The woods are our pastures; we eat what we find, And rush through the lands like a rattling wind.

Heaven gave us the country; we cling to the west, And, dying, we fly to the Lands of the Blest!

LIGHT OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE WIGWAM.

Oh why, ye subtle spirits, why Lift I my eyes to yonder floating sky, Where clouds paint pictures with so clear a hue?

A heaven so beautiful it must be true.

For if I but to earth withdraw my eyes, And fix them on the creature man To scan his acts, the dear, fond picture dies, And worse he seems in thought, and air, and plan Than the hyena, beast that only digs For food, and not rejoices in the dart, That stopped the warm blood current of the heart.

Had men but had just what the earth can give, It would be misery, and lies, and blood, Pinching and hunger, so that he who lives But lives, as some poor outcast drowning in a flood.

And then-ah, tell me!-whither goes the soul?

Oh why, ye spirits blest, oh why Is truth so darkened to the human eye?

As if a sombre cloud all heaven made black, And the sun shone but through a c.h.i.n.k or crack, Within a wall, where light is but the accident of things, And not the purport. Truth may be then as the white men write, And all our tribes in a darkness set, instead of light.

NOCTURNAL GRAVE LIGHTS.

It is supposed to be four days' journey to the land of the dead; wherefore, during four nights, the Chippewas kindle a fire on the grave.

Light up a fire upon my grave When I am dead.

'Twill softly shed its beaming rays, To guide the soul its darkling ways; And ever, as the day's full light Goes down and leaves the world in night, These kindly gleams, with warmth possest, Shall show my spirit where to rest When I am dead.

Four days the funeral rite renew, When I am dead.

While onward bent, with typic woes, I seek the red man's last repose; Let no rude hand the flame destroy, Nor mar the scene with festive joy; While night by night, a ghostly guest, I journey to my final rest, When I am dead.

No moral light directs my way When I am dead.

A hunter's fate, a warrior's fame, A shade, a phantom, or a name, All life-long through my hands have sought, Unblest, unlettered, and untaught: Deny me not the boon I crave- A symbol-light upon my grave, When I am dead.

MANITO.

"Every exhibition of elementary power, in earth or sky, is deemed, by the Indians, as a symbolic type of a deity."-Hist. Inds.

In the frowning cliff, that high Glooms above the pa.s.sing eye, Casting spectral shadows tall Over lower rock and wall; In its morn and sunset glow, I behold a Manito.

By the lake or river lone, In the humble fretted stone, Water-sculptured, and, by chance, Cast along the wave's expanse; In its morn and sunset glow, I behold a Manito.

In whatever's dark or new, And my senses cannot view, Complex work, appearance strange, Arts' advance, or nature's change- Fearful e'er of hurt or woe, I behold a Manito.

In the motions of the sky, Where the angry lightnings fly, And the thunder, dread and dire, Lifts his mighty voice in fire- Awed with fear of sudden woe, I behold a Manito.

Here my humble voice I lift, Here I lay my sacred gift, And, with heart of fear and awe, Raise my loud Wau-la-le-au.

Spirit of the fields above, Thee I fear, and Thee I love, Whether joy betide or woe, Thou, thou art my Manito.

NIAGARA, AN ALLEGORY.

An old gray man on a mountain lived, He had daughters four and one, And a tall bright lodge of the betula bark That glittered in the sun.

He lived on the very highest top.

For he was a hunter free, Where he could spy, on the clearest day, Gleams of the distant sea.

"Come out! come out!" cried the youngest one; "Let us off to look at the sea!"

And out they ran, in their gayest robes, And skipped and ran with glee.

"Come, Su;[110] come, Mi;[111] come, Hu;[112] come, Cla;"[113]

Cried laughing little Er;[114]

"Let us go to yonder deep blue sea, Where the breakers foam and roar."

And on they scampered by valley and wood, By earth and air and sky, Till they came to a steep where the bare rocks stood, In a precipice mountain high.

"Inya!"[115] cried Er, "here's a dreadful leap!

But we are gone so far, That, if we flinch and return in fear, Nos[116] he will cry, 'Ha! ha!'"

Now, each was clad in a vesture light, That floated far behind, With sandals of frozen water drops, And wings of painted wind.

And down they plunged with a merry skip, Like birds that skim the plain; And "Hey!" they cried, "let us up and try, And down the steep again!"

And up and down the daughters skipped, Like girls on a holiday, And laughed outright at the sport and foam They called Niagara.

If ye would see a sight so rare, Where Nature's in her glee, Go, view the spot in the wide wild West, The land of the brave and free!